Berzin suggests that if people want lasting, full-bodied wellness, they need to change the way they think about — and pay for — primary care.
"People ask, 'Why would I pay far and above?' Well, 'Why did you spend $150 on a haircut that you could've gotten at Cuts 4 Less for $25?" Berzin says.
The membership fee is a lot, considering patients still need to have health insurance (even though Parsley Health doesn't use it) and the fee doesn't cover lab work, medication, or recommended supplements.
Parsley Health physicians can prescribe drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, but they won't shell out for it.
Parsley Health has only three offices in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, though patients in those cities can meet with their doctors over video chat. It is the only medical practice in WeWork, which puts the startup in front of its target users.
Parsley Health would not say how many members it has, though with only one physician in its San Francisco office, there can't be that many. The New York location has a member waitlist.
Lester says her patients are mostly female, digital-savvy, and between the ages of 21 to 40.
WeWork members can try out a four-month membership at Parsley Health for $996, which includes an 80-minute evaluation with Berzin, four visits with a health coach. At a rate of $249 per month, the trial through WeWork is actually more expensive that a regular membership.
Over the course of the year, the physician and health coach work together to create a patient's personalized wellness plan.
A patient then has their first visit with a health coach — a wellness professional without a medical degree who's tasked with breaking down a patient's goals into manageable tasks.
If a member suffers from chronic burnout"— which is common in San Francisco, Lester says — the health coach might talk to them about working relaxation rituals into their routine.
The health coach can provide more granular help, like recommending local fitness classes or specific content from the app Headspace, which comes free with a Parsley Health membership.
A health coach continues to meet with the patient twice a month throughout the year.
After the intake, Lester designs a wellness plan that might includes recipes for a patient on a diet, recommendations for supplements to try, or goals for stress management.
It's not uncommon for a Parsley Health physician to order lab work at every visit. They might also recommend ordering genetics testing through a company like 23andMe or Promethease.
However, the membership does not include the costs of lab work or genetics testing, which can be prohibitive — though maybe not for people who can afford $150 a month on primary care.
Dr. Tiffany Lester, a physician at Parsley Health in San Francisco, says she asks some unusual questions during the intake session, like, "Are you happy at your job?" "How are your outside relationships?" "When was the last time you felt well?"
When a patient become a Parsley Health member, their journey starts with a 75-minute intake appointment. The point is to get the full picture of a person's health.
The doctor's offices are unlike anything we've seen. Patients walk through a maze of rooms at WeWork to find Parsley Health, which looks torn from the pages of a West Elm catalogue.
Members at Parsley Health receive five annual visits with their physician, 24 visits with a designated health coach, unlimited online messaging with their care team, a personalized wellness plan, and a subscription to Headspace, a popular daily meditation app.
Parsley Health charges a monthly fee of $150. By comparison, One Medical (which accepts insurance, unlike Parsley Health) charges that much for an annual membership.
Founded in 2007, One Medical also aims to modernize primary care.
The startup oversees a network of 250-plus primary care specialists in over 40 US cities, which allows members to book last-minute appointments at any location. Both One Medical and Parsley Health offer unlimited online messaging with a healthcare team and an online platform to access records remotely.
But One Medical is still more focused on traditional primary care (though it does have holistic wellness services available).
Parsley Health leans heavily on functional medicine, a type of practice that addresses the root causes of disease by taking a holistic look at a patient's history, lifestyle, and genetics.
Functional medicine is becoming more popular amid growing discontent with the healthcare industry. The idea is that, by taking an all-encompassing approach to wellness, physicians can provide more personalized care. Patients might take less medication and see fewer specialists.
One in 10 visits with a Parsley Health doctor result in a prescription, according to the company. By comparison, 74% of doctor's visits end up with a patient getting drug therapy.
A number of healthcare startups, including concierge medical practice One Medical and its tech-savvy competitor Forward, also are tapping into the trend.
As representatives in Washington, DC, debate the future of healthcare in America, another change is taking hold. "A new wave of primary care is coming," Berzin says.
Often, a patient sees their doctor for an annual physical and a check-up when something is wrong. Berzin says these interactions give a physician only a snapshot of a person's overall wellbeing, which isn't enough to design a personalized wellness plan for that patient.
The doctor might send them out the door with a prescription and a referral to see a specialist.
Parsley Health takes a proactive stance by meeting with patients often. Members visit with their physician and a designated "health coach" (virtually or in-person) about 30 times a year. The startup charges a monthly membership fee of $150.